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SOL: Naval Combat (siege engines)
Siege Engines assault structures and people from a distance by propelling ammunition in some fashion. The following rules focus on Siege Engines that can be carried and used on board ships. Siege Engine Basics All Siege Engines in Solaere use the following basic rules, unless stated otherwise in an individual Siege Engine description. Proficiency Siege Engines are exotic weapons. The Exotic Weapon Proficiency feat allows a character to fire a single type of Siege Engine without penalty. A creature with the Siege Engineer feat is proficient with all Siege Engines. Feats Several feats can be used with Siege Engines. These include the following: Master Siege Commander, Siege Commander, Siege Engineer and Siege Gunner. Crew The sheer size of a Siege Engine often facilitates the need to have a crew for operation. One person of that crew is the crew 'leader'. Usually the crew leader controls the movement of a Siege Engine or designates its targets; sometimes the crew leader does both. Often the crew leader is required to take actions and make specific checks in order for a Siege Engine to function. The rest of the crew members are requried to spend actions and make checks in order for a Siege Engine to function. The crew of a siege engine is in addition to the crew needed to operate the ship. Constructing Siege Engines A siege engine is a complex device requiring a DC 20 Craft (Siege Engine) skill check to build. Magical and Masterwork Siege Engines Siege Engines can be masterwork, increasing their Craft DC by 5 and cost by 300gp. A masterwork Siege Engine can be enchanted at the twice the cost for a normal magical weapon. The enchancement bonus of a Siege Engine applies on attack rolls and targeting checks (in the case of Indirect-fire Siege Engines) Disabling Siege Engines A Siege Engine is considered a difficult device to disable, required 2d4 rounds of effort and a DC 20 Disable Device check to do so. When a Siege Engine is disabled, it either doesn't work or is sabotaged and stops working after 1d4 minutes of use. Repairing Siege Engines Repairing a broken or disabled Siege Engine requires a DC 20 Craft (siege engine), Disable Device or Knowledge (engineering) check. It takes 10 minutes to fix the device, and the check can be retried if the fix fails. Defence and Hit Points All Siege Engines are objects, typically crafted out of wood. A Siege Engine has a Dexterity of 0 (-5 modifier) and a further penalty based on its size. Each type of Siege Engine has its own Hardness and Hit Points. Siege Engines can be armoured - treated the Siege Engine as a creature of its size to determine the cost of the armour. Masterwork Siege Engine armour can be enchanted for twice the cost to enchant armour. Armoured Siege Engines gain an AC bonus equal to that normally granted by the specific armour (shields have no effect on a Siege Engine), a Hardness and Hit Points equal to that of the armour, and bonus Hit Points equal to the Armour bonus x5. Assembling Siege Engines Siege Engines can be broken down for storage or transport and can be reassembled on a ship's deck. A Large Siege Engine requires 1 hour and four workers to assemble. A Huge Siege Engine requires 2 hours and six workers to assemble. Each assembly worker must make a DC 10 Craft (siege engine) check; if untrained the worker may not take 10. Assembly can be performed with at least half the required number of workers by doubling the time required. If fewer than half are available, the Siege Engine cannot be assembled. Firing Siege Engines Siege Engines hurl massive projectiles in one of two ways; direct fire or indirect fire. Both take a number of actions to load or aim, and the basic rules are described below. Load Ammunition In order for a Siege Engine to fire, it must be loaded with ammunition. Loading ammunition takes a number of full-round actions depending on the Siege Engine (this time can be reduced to move actions if the crew lader has the Master Siege Engineer feat. For example, a light ballista loaded by two creatures takes 1 round to load the siege weapon, since the creatures each take one of the two necessary full-round actions to do so. Aiming a Siege Engine Siege Engines must be aimed in order to attack a disired target (in the case of Direct-fire Siege engines) or square (in the case of Indirect-fire Siege Engines). Aiming takes a number of full-round actions depending on the Siege Engine. Aiming a Siege Engine with a diminished crew doubles the amount of time it takes to aim the Siege Engine. Each time a new target or square is chosen as the target of the Siege Engine's attack, that Siege Engine must be aimed anew. For example, a light catapult aimed by two creatures would have to spend a turn aiming the catapult in order to fire it on the next round, since a light catapult takes two full-round actions to aim. If the same light catapult were instead crew by three creatures, two could spend full-round actions aiming it and the remaing creature could fire it with a Standard action. Direct-Fire Siege Engines Direct-fire weapons launch their projectiles on a relatively flat trajectory, allowing them to more easily target creatures or pummel barriers directly in front of them. A Direct-fire weapon uses a normal ranged attack roll, with the normal penalty for non-proficient use if none of the crew operating it have proficiency in Siege Engines. In addition, a Direct-fire weapon takes a penalty on attack rolls of -2 per size category that the weapon is larger than the creature aiming it. Creatures with ranks in Knowledge (engineering) are not adversely affected by their size when firing Direct-fire Siege Engines. Sheer manpower can also reduce the penalties for size. Increasing the crew of these weapons by 1 or more can reduce the attack roll penalty for creature size: as long as an extra crew member is no more than three size categories smaller than the Direct-fire weapon, it can reduce the penalty due to the aiming creature's size by 2. For example, a Huge Bombard fired by a Medium creature that is part of a crew of five (one more than the minimum number of crew members required) takes only a -2 penalty on attack rolls, and a crew of six would negate the penalty altogether. Indirect-Fire Siege Engines Indirect-fire weapons launch projectiles in high arcs toward their targets. They typically lob heavier missiles and p ayloads than Direct-fire weapons, but they are harder to aim accurately. Indirect-fire weapons can bypass many forms of fortification, delivering their payloads of solid shot, scatter shot or even disease-ridden cadavers to targets on other ships. Indirect-fire weapons use a targeting mechanic similar to that of a howitzer or catapult, hereafter referred to as an indrect attack. Indirect Attack To fire an Indirect-fire Siege Engine, the crew leader makse a targeting check against the DC of the Siege Engine. This check uses his BaB, his Knowledge (engineering) skill if trained in that skill (or his Intelligence modifier, if not trained), any non-proficiency penalty and the appropriate modifiers: If the check suceeds, the ammunition of the indirect attack hits the square the Siege Engine was aimed at, dealing the indicated damage or effect to any object or creature within the area of its attack. Creatures may get a saving throw to limit the effect of th attack; this is typically base on the type of ammunition used. If the attack misses the intended square, roll 1d8 to determine the direction the shot veers. A roll of 1 indicates the ammunition falls short (toward the Siege Engine), with rolls of 2 through 8 counting squares clockwise around the target square. Roll 1d4 for every range increment at which the attack was made (1d4 if the target is within the engine's first range increment, 2d4 if the target square is within the second range increment and so on. The total is the number of squares by which the attack misses. The ammunition deals its damage and any other effects in the square it lands on. Critical Hits When a Direct-fire Siege Engine scores a critical hit, it conforms the critical and deals critical damage just like any other weapon. If an Indirect-fire Siege Engine rolls a natural 20 on its targeting check, it can also score a critical hit. The crew leader must reroll the targeting check to conform the critical. If the confirmation targeting check is successful, the attack is a critical hit and the Siege Engine multiplies its damage by its critical multiplier. Unlike norma attacks, Siege Engines can deal critical damage to objects. Siege Engines do not gain the benefit of critical feats the crew or the crew leader may have. Mishaps and Misfires Rolling a natural 1 on an attack roll with a Direct-fire Siege Engine or a targeting check made by an Indirect-fire Siege Engine produces a mishap. Usually a mishap applies the Broken condition. A Siege Engine with the Broken condition takes a -2 penalty on attacks rolls, targeting checks and damage rolls. If the creature that serve as crew leader has the Siege Engineer feat, that creature does not generate a mishap on a natural 1 when firing the Siege Engine. Common Siege Engines Siege Engine Qualities Siege Engines are represented in the following: Cost The value is the Siege engines cost in gold (g). The cost includes the gear needed to work the engines as well as gear for upkeep. Typical ammunition costs and weights are given in the Siege Engines descriptions. Damage This entry gives the damage typically dealt by the Siege Engine. Unlike normal ranged weapon, Siege Engines deal full damage to objects. Siege Engines do not deal sneak attack damage or any other kind of precision damage. Critical The entry for this column notes how the engine is used with the rules for critical hits. Unlike normal ranged weapons, Siege Engines can deal critical damage to objects as well as creatures. Range Any attack at a distance greater than that listed in this entry is penalized for range. Beyond this range, the attack or targeting check takes a cumulative -2 penalty for each full-range increment (or fraction thereof) of distance to the target. Some Siege Engines have a minimum range for effectiveness, listed in paraentheses after its range. Type Like weapons, Siege Engines are classified according to the type of damage they deal: B for bludgeoning, P for piercing and S for slashing. Some Siege Engines deal energy damage. In those cases, the type of energy damage is listed instead. Crew This column gives the number of Medium creatures needed to properly operate the Siege Engine Load/Aim This column gives the number of full-round actions required to load and aim a Siege Engine. If the Siege Engine is being controlled by less than its normal crew complement, the number of actions it takes for the crew to aim the Siege Engine is doubled.